Here in North Carolina, we can buy lottery tickets - both ticketed and scratch-offs - from vending machines. Some stores make you validate your age by scanning your driver's license before taking money. Other ones just let you put the money directly in.

My question is: if I use the vending machine that needs to scan my driver's license - does it retain that information/send it to the lottery commission? If I purchase the winning Powerball ticket from one, I'd rather stay as anonymous as possible (which really isn't allowed in my state, but still, I want some control.)

It just kinda freaks me out.

(And yes, I could buy them at a different store that doesn't make you scan your DL, but I love this store!)

I hope not. When i visit family in NC i have to use my sisters old license. It's only used for verifying your of age. I also found out there some clerks can deactivate the machine with a remote after i asked them to turn it off.

When in doubt, assume the information is being stored, shared, and likely used for other purposes too, such as marketing (not necessarily directly, but such as collecting demographic information; residence, age, sex, etc). On the other hand, it's possible, the machine only checks the date and doesn't store much, if any data. However, to reiterate, when in doubt, assume the worst when it comes to data collection.

Even if such data is being stored, shared, etc, it's near certainly not being cross-matched for smallish wins by taxing authorities. So little to no worry about the IRS, etc; most lottery players lose more than they win.

While one should be able to buy lottery tickets, cough medicine, cigarettes, alcohol, drain cleaner, etc without being carded, the reality is that ship has sailed. Data collection is bigger than ever. Just assume everything one does is being monitored. But on the other hand, all that data often isn't of much use when government resources are stretched thin; bigger fish to fry.

When in doubt, assume the information is being stored, shared, and likely used for other purposes too, such as marketing (not necessarily directly, but such as collecting demographic information; residence, age, sex, etc). On the other hand, it's possible, the machine only checks the date and doesn't store much, if any data. However, to reiterate, when in doubt, assume the worst when it comes to data collection.

Even if such data is being stored, shared, etc, it's near certainly not being cross-matched for smallish wins by taxing authorities. So little to no worry about the IRS, etc; most lottery players lose more than they win.

While one should be able to buy lottery tickets, cough medicine, cigarettes, alcohol, drain cleaner, etc without being carded, the reality is that ship has sailed. Data collection is bigger than ever. Just assume everything one does is being monitored. But on the other hand, all that data often isn't of much use when government resources are stretched thin; bigger fish to fry.

Good point! We don't have to put our DL in our machines, but I would NOT be happy if I had to do that.

Assume it is rather than is not. With talk of chip implantation for humans under the pretense of making life easier and hassle free, it would not surprise me that lotteries through the use of vending machines, collect information other than that you are of legal age to purchase.

Information of how often one plays what, preference of games, age group of players, frequency of purchasing among other things would be useful in marketing tactics and data tallies for players to include wins - seems this type of registry would be somewhat complex but it could be done.

If you were to purchase a winning online game...PB, MM and used your license to verify your purchase ability, they WOULD know who you are and considering what state you are from AND considering what the rules are as far as being anonymous go in that state, they might very well have the option to announce YOU as winner. And probably long before you were ready to reveal yourself.

Don't take any chances if you can help it when it comes to data collecting. Most of us are probably recorded somewhere in some data collection base where the information 'harvested' from us is being used for, not what we intended but for the 'betterment' of us all in some devious, sneaky way. Sorry to sound like a horror movie, but, it is when things go beyond our control disguised as simple verification only purposes.

Btw, is there any message added to the tune of: We will not use your information for any purpose other than to verify your age?